Hungry Apple’s chip habit – RAMppetite

The jump from 32GB to 64GB in the newer iPod touch models means more than just a new-found ability to squeeze the rest of your audio library into the palm of your hand. It means that some poor sod from pathetically nourished countries like American, China, Germany, and Japan will have to go without – flash memory that is. Even the world’s biggest electronics company whose GDP outweighs the country of Argentina is carefully counting its chips. Samsung will be shipping fewer memory modules to non-Apple companies in the coming months, and in anticipation of the China Unicom/Apple deal which will bring the iPhone to China, Apple are sure to be more voracious than ever.

If nothing else, a lack of supply may keep the iPod touch and iPhone — both of which are facing increasing pressure from ‘me too’ devices — on top through the upcoming holiday season. The new 32 and 64 GB iPod touch models will likely continue to push the envelope for memory capacities in handheld devices until the floodgates again open.

What I remember from grade five economics is that when supply dwindles, prices rise. It seems that things haven’t changed much in 19 years: The Register also quotes price increases of nearly one 20th of a cent on both 32 and 64 GB models. With Apple yet again gobbling up ram with nary a thanks-giving thought in its heart, price increases may be typical fare for the next epoch in flash history. Fortunately, flash epochs are over faster than you can say, ‘Zune’.